Fate has a sick sense of humor
by Different Dimension Demon
Summary: Theres a saying that goes what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. Nobody knows this better than Daemon Morningstar. Set on a mission by the Fire Daimyo he must confront his past to forge a future where his demons may at last no longer bother him. But not everything is easy for a ninja nor is it easy for outcasts. Disclaimer: Rewrite of my story Spirit Swordsman with some changes.
1. Chapter 1

"Next stop Konohagakure no Sato. You're up kid." The older man sat at the front of the carriage pulled on the reins making the horses halt. Wise brown eyes turned to look at the cloaked figure sat at the back of his carriage. He and his wife had run into the boy after they'd left the Fire Capital & considering they were going the same way, Konoha was a little ways before their destination, they had offered him passage instead of having to spend weeks walking alone in presumed solitude. The young man in question had been unusually quiet most of the way but had spent his time keeping their young children amused with a few stories here and there so the journey, usually a loud affair that frustrated his wife to the point of pulling at her hair, had been relatively peaceful.

Climbing out of the carriage and grabbing his bag the cloaked young man sent a look at the two six year old girls who were waving at him. "You two behave for your mom and dad. I know you have the energy to burn and find these long journeys where you have to be stuck in this carriage between your home and the Fire Capital boring but they do it all to make sure you two have the very best they can provide for you" he said, his voice a light brotherly like scold but gentle as he ruffled their hair with his hand. Reaching into his bag he pulled out two stuffed animals, small stuffed knit rabbit like stuffed animals he had bought on a whim without thought in the capital from a flea market off an older womans crochet and knitting table housing various hand made scarves hats and stuffed animals, before offering them to the girls. "Its not the same as being able to run and play with other kids but maybe these will help keep you busy til you get home."

The girls faces lit up taking the gifts into their hands and hugging them to their chests. "Thanks nii-san" the girls said with a grin pulling at their lips.

The two adults laughed to themselves seeing their daughters light up at such a simple gift. While they did relatively well as traders of speciality goods, they had specially bred giant spiders that weaved chakra conductive silk, a lot of their money was invested in their business which meant as much as they wanted to spoil their children to a degree with gifts they usually couldn't. "Hey kid" the man called after the cloaked boy making him stop and turn his head making the hood fall back revealing his features to the man. Black hair like pure onyx, red eyes with gold tinted slit pupils, pale skin and black symbols that almost looked like a tattoo under his left eye met his gaze.

"Hai?" he asked slinging his bag over his shoulder making the cloak he wore shift slightly exposing the hilts of two swords hidden underneath. He didn't have to stop to listen to the man but the older male was kind enough to offer him passage with himself and his family so the least he do, besides give the two girls a few stories to keep from driving him nuts with their bickering, was hear what he had to say. It wasn't likely he would ever meet the man again anyway.

"Lighten up a little there young man. If you keep that grim visage about yourself you'll have white hairs before I do and I have at least thirty some odd years on you. Live a little, you're only young once you know" the man said.

"I'll keep that in mind. Your concern is duly noted" he said with a false sense of taking the advice seriously. If he was bound to get white hairs he would have them well before he was in his mid twenties and he knew that all too well. 'Damn thing about this whole situation' he thought nodding his head at the man and his wife as the carriage passed, his hand raising in a lazy wave as the two little girls waved goodbye from out of the carriages back flap held open to the side.

"Theres better ways to deal with other humans than to do the bare minimum hatchling."

The young man ignored the puff of smoke to his left he began to walk toward the large gates that were one of the entry ports into Konoha. "Maybe so but that requires me acting like I give a damn. Theres only two people I did give a damn about and I had to give them up when I faked my death. Their association with me was dangerous to their standard of living and their projected number of years on this planet. They probably don't even me remember me anymore. Its all for the best in the end" the young man muttered with a sigh.

"You don't have the heart to even put oomph behind words like that. How do you expect any of us to believe thats how you truly feel when we know it is far from it?" A slender tanned arm gripped the boys shoulder stopping his gait. "I know you cared a lot for them hatchling but those two-"

"Are better off thinking I'm dead than knowing the truth" the young man said cutting off the womans tired point. His eyes turned and traced the slender arm to look at the owner with a tired expression, her own amethyst colored eyes mirroring the same look. Not for the first time he pondered the beauty that was his summon, well one of them anyways, presented to the world as her incognito human form. Silver hair reaching mid back slightly tamed in a half done braid, tanned skin like bronze, expressive amethyst eyes that begged of much, a body most women would kill for that seemed to be a seamless blend between career kunoichi and professional dancer & a soft heart shaped with an aristocrats sharp facial features- she was beautiful but the beauty was too high class to ever fit in with anyone who wasn't rich. "Lets be honest with ourselves Kiara. If I didn't come into my situation when I did and I kept my association with those two we all would have been dead by the time we were ten. The girls would no doubt have been mass raped by intoxicated asshats while I would have been forced to watch the light die in their eyes before they actually died. My death would have followed and it would have been a thousand times more painful than their deaths." His eyes turned back to the dirt path as he shrugged the hand off his shoulder. "I don't want to be back here. I want to burn everyone but those two alive in their own skin.."

Kiara felt her muscles tense slightly at the ache she could hear in her summoners tone. As much as he professed that it was for the best the two people he cared about to truly believe he was no more than a corpse she knew he was lying through his teeth. Lying to himself and to them. "Lets go then. You can tell the Daimyo it was a lost cause. He doesn't question you so writing a fake report is.."

"Out of the question." The young mans eyes closed for a brief moment as he tilted the head to the side. "I have a mission to complete and you may have not noticed it but theres a tail following us. Just because the Daimyo trusts my word as truth does not mean the entirety of his staff does. Even with my efficiency, lethal skills and long record of successful missions that would be certain suicide for most I'm a kid to them & they are the wise adults who have their heads so far up their asses they spout more shit from their mouths than they do when they use the bathroom" he said opening one eye. "I'll do what I have to do to complete the mission and then I'm gone. The less time I'm here the better it is for everybody involved."

"And what will you do if you see them?"

"Nothing." The onyx haired boy began to walk once more. "The person they cared about is dead and buried. I'm just another face in the crowd and its going to stay that way. Kami allowing."

Kiara hesitated a moment watching her summoner walk away. As much as she didn't like to admit about him out loud in areas where Kami knew who was listening, she and the other bosses had come to care about the onyx haired boy like a little brother. To see him torment himself, even if he claimed to feel nothing about other humans for years now, killed them all. It had been an uphill battle just to break through to him that in order for the four of them to work together he needed to let them in and not hold them at arms length. "Hes not dead little brother... That little boy is still there but hes scared. He still wants to protect the two girls he viewed as more important than his own continued survival in the most dangerous part of his life" she said to herself.

"I wouldn't worry about this Kiki."

Kiara looked feeling a light weight settle on her head. Spotting the white fur she snorted and rolled her eyes. "What are you doing here bun bun? You're supposed to already be in the village waiting for him" the silver haired woman said picking up the white furred rabbit by the scruff of the neck and holding it in front of her face.

"Oh I am. This is a shadow clone that I possessed. By the end of the day you might want to have some liquor ready. I'm staging an intervention of sorts for that boy and whether he likes it or not, I am betting on not, he will face his past. We are getting back the boy that hides under the callous shell hes developed for his own protection" the bunny said with a haughty sniff and head turn like it was offended. "Theres such a thing as being a product of your environment but him, hes beyond that. His detachment was born out of mistreatment and that just grew into a shell but we all know theres a heart under there that is waiting to shine. We just need to give him a reason to crack his head out of his shell. It'll get me hell for it but for him its worth it."

"Is it really? His jaded nature towards humanity and the people of that village is totally justified. Obvious exceptions aside of course. Why do you want to poke the hornets nest and anger the hive?" Kiara asked poking the shadow clone rabbits belly with a finger.

"A mother will go to hell and back to see her children truly happy." The rabbits head turned where its gaze landed on the cloaked boy. "My son has not been happy for a long time Kiara. If the price to restore his happiness is that I have to purposefully make him mad at me or even hate me for a bit so be it." When all that was said the rabbit poofed into smoke.

* * *

"State your name and purpose in the village."

The cloaked youth rolled his eyes adjusting his bag on his shoulder. "My name is Daemon Morningstar and I come on official business from the Fire Capital" he said offering up a black and gold edged scroll bearing the seal of the Daimyo on the front.

"What business would that be precisely Mr. Morningstar?" one of the chunin said examining the scroll while his partner examined the offered identification documents.

"My father Jacob Morningstar is the head of the Daimyos personal security team. Being that I am his heir it was suggested by my father to Lord Katsuro that I obtain field experience before I ascend to head his current position once he retires. Lord Katsuro was quick to agree citing the quality of ninja and sword wielders coming from Konohagakure in recent years had increased tremendously. Hence why I am here. My father and Lord Katsuro seek that in some capacity, be it as a part of a ninja squad or apprenticed to a senior ninja, I be trained in the real world so that when I take my fathers position as my own I will be more suited to protecting our Daimyo from threats" Daemon said taking back his ID papers and the scroll.

The pair of chunin raised eyebrows at each other as the boy spoke. To send the next head of the Daimyos security team for real world combat training was both extremely smart, Konohagakure no Sato had one of the largest standing military forces out of the five Great Villages, but extremely suspicious too. An ink seal could be faked and this boy could be easily be a spy sent to infilitrate their military structure to steal their secrets for one of the other Great Villages. "Give us a minute to get you an ANBU escort to the Hokages office. He'll verify the authenticity of that seal before a decision is reached. Proceedure you understand, you can never be too careful" the first chunin said.

"I'd be disappointed if you took my story at face value" Daemon said bluntly as he cracked his neck. True to their word a minute later a ninja, specifically a kunoichi with strands of purple hair he noted absently, was there making a follow me gesture. Following behind the woman his eyes wandered the village taking in the sights. Some places were still there, others were gone and replaced. For a moment he felt a pang of something in his chest seeing the spot where the old Ichiraku Ramen stand used to be before it got burned down and the father-daughter pair that had been murdered for standing up for him against the mobs; in its place now was a small sushi bar. A sharp tap on his shoulder brought him back making him realize he had stopped in his tracks. "Apologies ANBU-san, lost idly in my thougbts comparing the Caital city and here."

The kunoichi seemed to find it minorly suspicous, there had been hints of something not even present for a milisecond in the boys eyes, but he hadn't done anything to warrant a threat to anyone. Another impatient gesture was made before she pointed ahead to the large tower that dominated the center of the village. It was a nuisance not being able to speak to anyone who was not the current Hokage, it made her job so much more difficult in her opinion. Especially when it was moments like thise where proceedure demanded an ANBU escort to lead those not from the village to see the Hokage immediately before they could conduct their business in the village.

"I'm coming, I'm coming. No need to get your panties in a bunch." Daemon could feel the glare being directed at hing through the porcelain cat mask as the kunoichi violently pointed at the tower.

* * *

There were just days where Minato Namikaze hated being Hokage. It wasn't that he hated the job itself, he had dreamed of it since he was a kid, but how tedious and time consuming it could be. Mountains of paperwork sat on opposite edges of his desk awaiting his signature for various new laws, taxes, fees and other things but his attention was focused on the woman standing before his desk. "So you want to run this by me one more time" he said setting down the black and red trimmed scroll she had given him.

The woman scoffed and crossed her arms under her chest. At just slightly about averave height for a woman with striking green eyes and red-brown hair that reflected hints of dark blonde highlights she knew she stood out amongst the villages women. "As you have already read and verified the authenticity of Lord Katsuro-donos seal on that scroll you are being ordered to grant me a team consisting of my student who should be arriving in this village shortly and two others of my choosing. My student is here for real world combat experience to make him more effective as the head of the Daimyos guard once his father Jacob retires" she said tappjng her foot impatiently. Honestly, what was so hard about reading a damn scroll to understand what was being said to you?

"Right Ms...?"

"Usagi, Sayaka Usagi" she said as she sighed in annoyance.

"Right Ms. Usagi, normally I would say that you are out of luck but because of the three separate checks for the Daimyos seal bore authentic marks I have no choice but to say here are the files." Minato shoved a pile across the desk in front of the woman who immediately began digging through the files and skimming through them quickly before settling on two and pushed the rest back. "This student of yours, is he competitive with those of his age group?" he asked folding his hands before him.

"Daemon is a lot of things but ineffective is not one of them. Every single one of his tutors in the shinobi arts in the Capital raved about his unparalleled potential yet to be realized. Though excels at combat related forms over those meant as supporting types, like genjutsu or medical techniques, some of the Twelve Ninja Guardians put him on par with a newly promoted chunin. When factoring in his sword skills taught by the samurai who protect the palace and his devastatingly unique form of taijutsu hes a one man wrecking squad. At least in theory anyway, he never truly goes all out. Theres never enough reason for him too" Sayaka said. "Well I'll be back shortly when you gather everyone to pick their teams."

"Ms. Usagi, you'll need this" Minato said tossing a jounin flak jacket at the retreating woman who only reached a hand bebind her catching it effortlessly. "And maybe you could humor me two questions before you leave to prepare."

"That entirely depends on the questions. Somethings I can say and others I can't. Lord Katsuro-donos orders you understand" Sayaka said looking over her shoulder.

"The timing of you and your student is impeccable considering today is the graduation exam for this years graduating class out of the academy, a class that was one candidate short of a full group. That wouldn't happen to be coincidence would it?" Minato asked.

Sayaka scoffed at that and almost looked insulted at the question. "You rely on the Daimyo to fund the budget in part for this village. Nothing is coincidence, its all by his design. There isn't **anything** that goes on in this village he doesn't know about" she said like it was the most glaringly obvious thing in the world. "Your second question?"

"This student of yours, Daemon, I assume that he'll be easy to find?"

"Knowing him you could look out the window and follow the trail of ice on the ground. Kid doesn't know the meaning of the words lighten up if you curb stomped them into his skull with a mega ton brick boot." Sayaka sighed kneading the bridge of her nose. "Being more serious hes probably getting the same royal escort courtesy of your ANBU. Hes a pale kid, onyx black hair, red eyes with a gold slit pupil with a sealing tattoo under one eye and hes wearing a slight variation of an apprentice samurais combat outfit with a cloak on top of it."

"Thats specific" Minato said unfolding hands and jotted down the description on a scrap of paper. "What kind of variation are we talking about in terms of his clothing?"

"The color. Its black and dark crimson red compared to a normal apprentices pure white. I have things to gather for preparation." In a moment Sayaka was gone before the blonde mans eyes.

"Sir, there is a Daemon Morningstar here to see you. He claims to be here on business from the Fire Captial and has a scroll he says is sealed with Daimyos crest" Minato heard through the intercom on his desk.

"Send him in." Seeing the youth before him Minato shuddered internally. Maybe it was just his time during the war that made him paranoid about complete unknowns but his senses told him there was something wrong, something so very off, about the young man before him. He was dressed as his teacher described and a momentary switch of his gaze between the scrap he jotted down the boys description on said this was the boy. "Mr. Morningstar, I hope your trip from the Capital was no trouble" he said standing and offering a hand out to shake.

Daemon looked between the hand and the mans face with a blank expression before offering his scroll out. "Hokage-san, please verify the seal and lets get this over with" he said with a completely business bluntness. The less time he spent in the mans presence would do wonders for his health.

Minato grimaced at the rudeness of his gesture being ignored but if the young man had been trained from a young age to eventually replace his father such niceties were probably not exactly required lessons. Taking the scroll he read the contents first before running the same diagnostic technique to reveal the authenticity of the seal crest, handwriting and ink mixture used by the Daimyo for official reasons. "I was informed of your pending arrival."

"I would imagine so. Where is this academy that is hosting its graduating class? I do assumed you'll be sticking me on a genin squad instead of apprenticing me to one of your more senior ninja" Daemon said taking the scroll back and pocketing it with a dull tone.

 _'Wow... Tallk about all work and no play makes Jack, or in this case Daemon, a dull boy. Does this kid even know the meaning of the word fun? Or what the concept of 'enjoy your youth while you have it' means?_ _'_ Minato thought with a mental scowl. "The academy is about to begin its testing in twenty minutes. Give this note to the chunin instructor Iruka Umino, it'll give you entrance to take the exams with everyone else" he said handing a quickly scribbled note with his stamped Hokage seal. "Tora will guide you to the academy."

"You mean the ANBU kunoichi with purple hair? I don't think she likes me" Daemon said with a scoff as he took the note from Minato. The slamming of the doors opening inward made him scoff again as a gesture of his hand kept the doors from banging into the walls from a tiny use of wind jutsu. "I don't think shes pleased."

"Her being pleased is inconsequential to do doing her job." Minatos words were edged with annoyance looking at the kunoichi in question. "Lead Mr. Morningstar to the academy and to Iruka Uminos classroom, he'll be filling in the missing spot on the roster left by coucilwoman Harunos daughter being hospitalized" he said with a no-nonsense ordering tone.

The cat masked ANBU scowled behind her mask and made a rough gesture for the onyx haired boy to follow her. Why was she getting the grunt work?! She had seniority over a fair portion of the current stock of ANBU so why was she being stuck being a gopher when that was the newly iniated grunts main detail?

"Ball of sunshine she is isn't she?" Daemon asked sarcastically approaching the ANBU. "I can see why she has the Tora mask. Shes just as much a ball of pleasantness as Lady Shinjis little monster." His parting comment drew the womans ire as he followed but he didn't truly care. Karma was a bitch and he tended to call a spade a spade

* * *

"The first section of your exam is-" Iruka was interrupted by the sound of knocking on his classroom door before it was opened. "Can I help you young man?" he asked looking at the boy before him.

"Yes you can actually. I was told to give you this note by the Hokage" Daemon said offering the note up.

Iruka looked up from the note and back to the young man. Was he for real? Did the Hokage really think a kid off the street was competitive with this years group of graduates consisting mainly of clan heirs? His eyes shot to the ANBU posted in the hall who barely nodded her head. "I guess Hokage-sama knows what he is doing. Come on in."

"He doesn't have a choice in the matter considering the order was given by Lord Katsuro the Daimyo" Daemon said following the chunin in. For a minute he couldn't breathe, not that it showed on his face or in his body language, as his eyes landed on _them_ for the first time since he was seven years old and faked his own death. He knew instinctually they would be beautiful back then but seeing it face to face for the first time in years was a different beast entirely. This was going to be a whole lot harder if just _seeing them_ was going to affect him like this.


	2. When the Saints come in

Daemon leaned back in his seat as his eyes roved the classoom, anything to do but let his eyes trace back to the two figures who brought him to a moment of complete shutdown. He couldn't be sure they, or anyone really, noticed since he kept his shock contained within his own mind even if he did stop breathing for a minute. Anko had grown up well and if he hadn't known her aspiration as a kid was to be a kunoichi he would guess that she had been taking dance lessons or civilian martial arts classes since she could walk being that athletically lean and toned but muscled at the same time. Her hair was longer than he remembered it laying between her shoulders and once pale skin was now lightly tanned. What hadn't surprised him was that her sense of style hadn't changed. As open and very unshy about her body as she was as kid it carried well over the years switching out sun dresses and flip flops for combat fatigues, steel toe boots, a fish net crop top over her bra and a black trench coat.

The second reason he had a momentary shock to the system sat beside looking equally bored and unamused with the people around her. The Hana Inzuka he remembered had been a vibrant girl who usually had one of her clans dogs out with her, Anko and himself whenever the three of them were playing together in her clans compound under the watchful eye of her family. When he walked in that first moment he saw her eyes brighten slightly like he was something new or familiar before that spark died as Anko shook her head in answer to a silent question. Like Anko she too filled out well in terms of curves and bust while seeming to retain a similar sense of style like her purple haired friend in that she was decked out to nines in combat fatigues, combat boots though she differeed in the sense hers weren't steel toe but the soles seemed to be spiked for stomping strikes or kicks, a crop top that showed off her toned stomach and her clans signature jacket was replaced by an open zip up hoody emblazoned with a rendering of a howling wolf head on the front.

"Alright, times up for the written exam. Mizuki will be around to collect your tests before we head outside for the taijutsu and throwing proficiency exams" Iruka said as his silver haired and colleague began to circle the room collecting the stacks of papers. "No Suzuka, you are not medically excused from the taijutsu portion. If you want to a shinobi of any regard, and yes I know you have stated the desire to be a medical one in the village hospital, you have to be able to hold your ground in combat against opposing ninja forces even with conditions like your own." The chunin saw the girls head drop and he felt kind of bad. He didn't agree with her being subjected to the same law considering Suzuka had a medical condition where she _cannot_ feel pain, something a lot of people would count as a blessing in the ninja career but was truly far more dangerous to the affected person than acknowledged by their peers.

Suzuka, a deceptively mousy looking girl, slumped in her seat at that. It wasn't that she couldn't hold her own against an opponent in a one-on-one fight but being unable to feel pain or injury she could very well overextend herself into a potentially fatal position by way of being unable to feel her own injuries if a fight dragged on.

Daemons lips drew into a thin line hearing that as he leaned forward. If one had a medical condition that hindered their abilities as a ninja they shouldn't have tried to be one in the first place. _'Unless..._ _'_ His eyes narrowed slightly as a flash of memory came to the forefront of his mind. One of the samurai in the Fire Capital who assisted his learning of kenjutsu and close quarters combat, a very different form of combat compared to ninja taijutsu in the regard samurai close quarters combat taught to him revolved around a set of brass knuckles to deliver more bone crunching force with his fists, who never felt any pain from his attacks no matter how deeply his sword cut or how numerous the cuts were. Turning to the student next to him, a quick inspection told him the kid was a Nara, he poked the boys shoulder. "Whats that girls Suzukas deal? What did Iruka-san mean by she wasn't medically excused?" he asked.

"Suzuka can't feel any pain at all. One day she cut her finger with a knife her mom put in her lunch and she didn't realize it til she went to take a bite of whatever was packed making her spot the blood dripping down the side of her hand. Some of the girls in the class freaked out and fainted while Suzuka sighed like it was an everyday occurence and walked off to the nurses office to clean her hand up after packing her lunch up" the Nara kid replied through a yawn.

Daemon nodded thoughtfully hearing all of that. It would seem in the entirety of the time he was away Konoha had gotten somewhat interesting if only by way of new interesting people coming into the village. _'A girl unable to feel physical pain no matter the severity of injury, next thing I'll be seeing a mute person who uses sound based just as an offense and defense_ _'_ he thought to himself as he steepled his fingers in front of his face in a contemplating pose.

Two rows behind Daemon a blonde haired girls eyes werqe laser focused on him, her lips in a scowl. Being slightly above height for her age, slightly bustier than most of her classmates but less so than the shy Hyuuga heiress, possessing mind blowing bright crystal blue eyes and almost elf like pointed ears the girl was a beauty. Her name was Kizuka Namikaze, Kiza or Zaza to her friends, and unlike most of her classmates she could sense something was wrong with the onyx haired kid who filled in the missing roster spot from the moment he walked in. There was just something eerily familiar about him that made the hairs on her neck stand on end in alarm. She hadn't seen him at all in her life, that was for certain, but something was screaming at her that she knew him somehow.

"Kiza! Come on, everyones filing out for the taijutsu test."

Kizuka blinked as her scowl deepened. Half the class was already outside and the boy she'd been focused on !$- ! at her over his shoulder with a blank look before he passed through the door. She didn't know if the look was one of interest, disapproval of her staring or what it was about but she didn't like being trained at her; it sent a shiver down her spine. "Ino, do me a favor and as subtly as you can do a passive mind scan of that black haired kid. I can swear for certain I've never seen him before something tells me I know him for one reason or another. I don't why, where or how but something is screaming at me I know him" she said grimly.

"Kiza, you know I'd do anything for you but no. Didn't you hear his introduction to the class before Iruka-sensei gave the go ahead to start the written test? That guy is the son of our Daimyos head of personal security. I don't know what he has in his head and if theres things we shouldn't know I'm not losing my head for stealing National Security Secrets with a passive mind scan. Not even for you and I love you like a sister Kiza. Just talk to the guy, play coy and aloof with him like you do every other guy" Ino said crossing her arms under chest following her fellow blonde outside.

"That'll be a problem when my instincts are telling me to run like a frightened animal or fill every inch of his body with weapons til hes no more than a twitchy blood covered lifeless corpse" Kizuka said shaking her head. She had to figure out who this guy was and why it felt like he was familiar before it drove her insane.

"Girl, thats on you. Not me. Hes a far darker and silent type than Sasuke is, usually my type and you know that, & even I don't want to go within a hundred meters of him. It could be his aura, it could be his standoffish way of looking at people but hes obviously not someone to mess with. If you want to know so bad then you the kunai and see if he throws it back at you but count me out of this hairbrained scheme of yours."

* * *

Saying that the observations Daemon made of the kids leading up to his turn to test his taijutsu capabilities were disappointing would've been the understatement of the century. All the kids who seemed to be of civilian stock used the rigid style he assumed was taught there in the academy, a style that in fundamental theory laid a basic framework for balanced offense and defense but many kids didn't have the right build or body type to utilize the balance & had to choose one over the other. Many of the boys chose to use a more offensive version while almost all the girls used a more tai-chi style defensive version and used the instructors energy from the blows against him. What had surprised him minutely was that the girl who couldn't feel pain was able to take the balanced version, swotching between offensive katas and flowing seamlessly into defensives ones with ease, and turn its rigid forms into something fluid. Vaguely he was reminded of Kara, one of his ninjutsu tutors back in the Fire Capital who specialized in her specific form of almost perfect water element attacks that she coined under "Water Bending" as her style of fighting, as accurate strikes became solid blocks and blocked atacks became momentarily stronger retaliatory attacks using the force absorbed by her arms.

"Morningstar, you're up!"

Daemon blinked before he shooed the rabbit off his lap and stood up. How and when it got into the village he wasn't sure but he would be having a talk with Sayaka later. "Alright, before we begin" he turned to look at the other kids in the class who were watching curiously "someone give me a number between 0 and 5" he said rolling his shoulders. He wasn't really about to try but it would humor the chunin in charge and give a shadow of an idea to the idiot in charge how strong he really was, not enough to be suspicious but enough to say he was not an oridnary trained fighter.

"Three."

"Four."

"One."

"Zero."

"Five."

Daemon let his gaze wander the crowd of voices before two voices spoke at the same time making him stop.

"Two" Anko and Hana said in unison.

 _'Of course rhey would be the only ones to be that in-synch'_ Daemon thought cursing in his head. "Two it is then. How can I possibly disappoint such beautiful ladies like you two?" he asked with a forced smile though it appeared entirely genuine. Then he kicked himself mentally for talking himself into a corner. Now he had to do this test with two attacks, he could outlast the chunin stamina wise and blow the man over but that wasn't why he was kicking himself mentally, and he had unintentionally gave a flirt to the two earning a glowering look from them. That he did earn at least.

"So whats the number mean anyway Morningstar?" Mizuki asked taking a stance on the oppositd side of the onyx haired boy.

"Its the number of attacks I'm limiting myself to before you're laid out on the dirt" Daemon said shoving his hands in his pockets. "If I wanted to be an ass like some of my instructors back at the Capital call me when I'm not around and they think I don't hear you would be unconscious already."

"Thats a cocky statement to make don't you think?" Mizuki didn't have a moment to even react before he was on his knees coughing up blood.

"Thats one." Daemon sighed slightly appearing to only have moved a few steps before the after-image he left in the moment he moved faded. Several gasps reached his ears as his posture slouched already feeling far more bored than he had been during the paper test. "Rule number one of the candidates being trained to protect the Daimyo once the current guard cycle retires: be faster and hit harder than your opponent in front of you, it may mean the difference between you and the Daimyo living or dying" he said yawning slightly.

Mizuki growled as he forced himself to his feet. Some of the kids had decent strength, the clan kids did depened on which clan they were from, but this boy hit harder than all of them that had already done their test so far. "Don't get cocky now, that was a lucky shot" he said wiping the blood from his lips.

"Was it a lucky shot? I mean, was it _really_ a lucky shot? Or are you that bad? I mean, the civilians have a saying that goes 'Those who can't do, teach. Those who can't teach, teach gym'." Daemon gave a sarcastic smirk as he dodged a flurry of sloppy strikes from the angry chunin. "And my taijutsu instructor gave a fair enough comparison for nina; 'Those who don't cut it in Active Duty ride the desk. Those who don't cut it riding the desk end up being glorified babysitters'. So do you really suck that much as a desk jocky & bad in field that they stuck you here? Thats just sad."

Mizukis brow twitched as the ferocity and speed of his attacks increased. How dare this brat insult him?! He would show the brat what it meant to fight a chunin and make him show him respect if he had to curb stomp his head into bloody paste if that was what it took, the Daimyo be damned!

Anko and Hanas eyes narrowed as ahocked silence fell over the crowd. To purposefully enrage Mizuki was smart, an enemy who wasn't thinking rationally and was thinking with their emotional high meant they would make a lot more errors you could exploit, but just like their classmates they found the fact that the silver haired chunin had yet to land _one hit_ on the onyx haired boy was what had their attention. Every strike the chunin connected with 'Daemon' went through saying Mizuki was hitting an after-image. "What kind of training has he gone through to attain that level of speed he leaves after-images?" Hana muttered to herself.

"I don't know but it had to be intense. The only people in this village known to be fast enough to produce after-images is the Yondaime, that green spandex wearing jounin if he pushes his limits according to rumors and the Copy Cat Kakashi" Anko said tapping her chin. "Hey Luna-chan, do you get the same feeling I'm getting about this Daemon guy?" she asked leaning against her friend with a completely curious but guarded frown coming to her lips.

"That depends on what the feeling is Hebi-hime" Hana said wrapping an arm around Ankos shoulder and squeezed lightly.

"The hairs on the back of my neck are on end recognizing this guy has the potential to be a catastrophic danger but what I'm taking about is completely unrelated to that. You're going to call me nuts here but he almost seems-"

"Moonlight Crow" Hanas attention completely diverted to Daemon as one leg came around in a round house kick that sent both himself and Mizuki skyward "Descends to Madness." The impact a moment later was accompanied by a crack like sonic boom, the ground shaking as Mizuki literally created a crater around him. Her eyes tore away from the crater as, if it was like a delayed timer went off in the kitchen while you made dinner, the sound of breaking bones and dislocating joints filled the air mixed with agonized yells escaping Mizukis lips. "Two moves and hes down. I assume I pass right?" he asked looking at Iruka who was slack jawed along with nearly everyone in class.

"Wh-what did you do to him?" Iruka asked once he managed to slot his jaw back in place as some of the already done kids ran inside to get the school posted medical ninja to look at Mizukis injuries.

"Eh, truthfully that was my weakest taijutsu technique. At least according to Saitama-sensei anyway. Even then I was holding back most of my strength so he'll live. Be in pain for a good chunk of time yeah but he'll live. I didn't even add chakra to increase my speed or the strength of my hits ether" Daemon said almost sounding disappointed.

Hanas eyes widened as Daemon said that. The speed he used to produced after-images and the strength to send both himself & Mizuki skyward before sending the silver haired chunin back to the ground with a sonic boom creating a crater was all raw physcial speed & strength?! Part of her awoke inside at that and licked its lips. This new guy was already alpha of the pile and he hadn't been here more than an hour, she would have him for herself and beat down any bitch who got in her way or tried to get with him. Except Anko, she would share with her serpentine like friend but it would be made clear that _**she** _was the alpha and not Anko as much as she loved her dear friend. "You were saying Anko" Hana said as she shook her head able to get a grasp of her baser instincts and lock them up for now.

"Keep it in your pants fido. He gives off that 'I'm an asexual ass' vibe so don't get the engine runing for nothing" Anko said rolling her eyes at Hana. She saw the hungry gleam entering her friends eyes and fought the urge to scoff. Sure the guy seemed really strong and hot but he had this aura of being completely detached from everything. "As I was saying, you might think I'm nuts for saying this but he gives this vibe, besides the whole asexual ass one that is, like I seen him somewhere before or like I should know him."

* * *

In the Yondaimes office the assembled jounin stared with shock coloring their expressions. While some students had put up noteworthy displays so far, none had been more impressive than Daemons. True to the limit imposed by the people he chose he had used only two attacks to put Mizuki down for the count. The first had been a more disrespectful watch your tone kind of attack while the otber was aimed at ending the testing portion. Unaided chakra strength to create a sonic boom and raw speed to create after-images at the age of twelve to thirteen was unheard of!

"I want him on my team!" nearly every jounin, the only one who abstained from the same exclamation was a pale woman with inky black hair red eyes and a cloth-like material dress, said at once

"Hes already spoken for ladies amd gents." From the corner Sayaka seemed to melt out of the shadows and slowly seemed to sashay up towards the desk. "I'll make this quick and clear. My name is Sayaka Usagi and like my student Daemon I am here on orders from our Daimyo. I will be leading a team out of this years class, one of my students being Daemon since he doesn't trust or listen to anyone outside of a small circle, and I already have their files in my possession. You all get to fight over the left over scraps. Any attemps to try and make a move to take my student or my other two picks & I break every bone in you both your arms up to your shoulder socket ever so slightly before the point your bones would never heal properly & you'd be forced to retire from ninja life. Am I under understood?" she asked with a sickly sweet smile.

None of the guys in the room, not even Kakashi Hatake who was _early_ for once in his life, dared to defy a smile like that. They'd all heard of the fearsome 'Bloody Bunny' Usagi. Tales of her bloodlust and ruthlessness on the battlefield were legendary & if the onyx haired boy, now situated against a tree running his hand through a rabits fur nestled against his chest like a content pet or happy child with their parent, had truly been taught by her she could keep him. Some of the rumors about former students of hers telling of her training methods took extreme and made it look like a spa day. Beyond that, who knows how screwed his mind was? "On behalf of all the guys here we withdraw our bid" Asuma said after being forced to the front of male group.

"This is good, you aren't all stupid" Sayaka said with a smirk. Her gaze turned to the women. "What about you ladies? Does anyone really want to fight me and risk permanent injury that your career goes down the drain?"

"I didn't want him in the first place" the black haired female jounin said crossing her arms across her chest. "Brute strength has it applications but theres far more to being a ninja than hitting hard and being fast."

"Ah, spoken like a true support type" Sayaka said with a smile that could be skewed as condescending. "They are in the taijutsu part of the exam, of course my student is going to flex his muscles and put on a show. He knows every jounin to this village able to qualify for a genin cell is watching in addition to me. Hes showing off but that doesn't mean his skills lie solely in physical combat Ms..."

"Yuuhi, Kurenai Yuuhi. Your claims are yet to be rendered true before our eyes" she said with a thin lipped frown.

Sayaka chuckled finding Kurenais comment as amusing as it was presumptive. "Has it Ms. Yuuhi or have you taken your eyes off the ball a moment too long?" she asked with a glint in her eyes as she pointed to the crystal ball everyone else was watching except for Kurenai herself.

* * *

"That was pretty impressive Mr. Morningstar."

Daemon looked up from the fluffy bunny he was pampering with attention as a voice reached his ears. Seeing Anko and Hana standing before him he focred a calm over himself as he dismissed the bunny back to th summon realm igoring its pout and making a mental note to have a sweet to give it later. "I guess so" he said shrugging his shoulder carelessly. "Natural talent and good instructors don't qualify as markers for impressive."

"Says you" Anko said with a huff.

"I guess I did didn't I?" Daemon asked as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. His eyes closed for a moment as he let them ponder the fact he turned their words back on them without so much as a blink. "By the by" his eyes opened halfway, gaze turning to the only other guy in class who seemed to possess true natural strength not aided by any technique or chakra- a boy with onyx hair like himself only this other boys hair was styled like a ducks ass, "its usually in poor form to interrupt a person in deep thought. But I suppose I can forgive this little faux pas."

Hana and Anko scowled at that. All they did was pay the guy a compliment and he says its rude to interrupt a persons train of thought? "We just wanted to say we were impressed with the raw speed and strength you possess. You don't have to be rude about it" the purple haired girl said glaring off to the side.

"I wasn't intentionally meaning to be if that is the implication on your lips. Niceties amongst general populace wasn't eactly high on my instruction list back in the Capital." Daemon noted the triplet canines nearby growling silently amongst themselves and cursed internally. Why oh why would Hana have the luck to attract three partners instead of one like a normal Inzuka? On top of that, it seemed the canines were wolf hounds too and they seemed to be as protective of Anko as they were Hana. "I was merely stating a fact. No more, no less" he said simply.

* * *

That night when Hana and Anko returned home, the freshly graduated kunoichis had shared a guest house within the Inzuka compound together ever since the night their one other true friend died, showing off their headbands Tsume had asked them a question that ached at old wounds.

-flashback to when Anko and Hana returned to the Inzuka Clan compound-

 _"So where is he?"_

 _Anko and Hana looked perplexed at the question Tsume asked, the older womans expression blank as she worked a comb through her partners fur. "Where is who mom? What are you talking about?" Hana asked as she cast her mother a long sideways glance. Her mother, like most of her family and clan, was brash and blunt but to be so vague and succinct was not in her style. Not unless it was either life or death, important to politics that ensured the best interests of the clan OR she was trying to fish for information she knew was out there to protect her kids from all the harm she could in the village; even Anko had earned an honorary induction into the clan after all she went through sticking long by Hana and Narutos side. Just the thought of their friend, their long dead friend, made her heart clench._

 _"You know who."_

 _"Mom... Foxy is dead. We buried him years ago" Hana said resting her hand on her mothers shoulder. "You know this."_

 _"Do you two know what the most dangerous type of canine out there is?" Tsume asked as she set down the comb rubbing her partners fur between her fingers absently._

 _"Its a lone wolf" Anko said as she leaned against the wall. "You told us that a long time ago. No connection to a pack, no mate or pups of their own to take care of makes a lone wolf the most dangerous. They have nothing to live for but themselves and as much as their instincts can make them survive on that setting it will kill them long before it will kill a grounded wolf in a pack or that has a mate & pups to care for."_

 _"I told you girls a half truth when I told you that." Tsumes focus was unfocused like she was searching for something within the fabric of reality. "A lone wolf is dangerous, very dangerous in fact, but theres something far more dangerous and I can smell the scent of one on you both."_

 _Hanas eyes widened minutely as she frowned and glanced to Anko. What could her mother believe was more dangerous than a wolf with no family or pack to ground out the feral instincts? "What are you talking about mom? Whats more dangerous than a lone wolf and what scent is on us? We've been at the academy all day & the only animals at the academy were Akamaru, the triplets and a rabbit that this kid sent from the Fire Capital dismissed to the summon realm" she said trying to connect the dots herself._

 _"The one thing more dangerous than a lone wolf is the a Lost Coyote."_

-flashback end-

"A 'Lost Coyote'? What the bloody fuck is a 'Lost Coyote'? And what did she mean theres the scent of one on us?" Anko muttered stripping down to her athletic bra and gym shorts before throwing herself onto her bed.

"A Lost Coyote...is the ultimate tragedy in the eyes of my clan Anko. You were honorarily adopted in because we stuck together through a lot and weathered storms that would break most friendships into non-existence. But there are certain things you will never learn, not without mom or me explaining it to you and trying to create a parallel that you can understand perfectly" Hana said as she grimaced deeply. "To understand a Lost Coyote you have to understand what a Coyote is in the eyes of my clan."

"They're just another type of dog right?" Anko asked forcing herself to a sitting position.

"Yes and no. You're thinking of the physical animal itself. No, a Coyote is a pseudo rank or fighter specialty inside the clan. Coyotes are sort of like a perfect mix between scouts and suicide mission runners with the devils luck on their side. They get our info for us and get it back to us any means possible, if you get caught you don't get caught alive. Nor is your body ever found whole enough for clan secrets to be disected from your corpse." Hana sat on the bed and tried to put the next bit into words. "A 'Lost Coyote' is one of the Coyotes who is supposed to be dead but they're still alive. Sort of like self exile for failing in your duties to your loved ones while letting everyone think you were dead.I can only think of one reason mom would ask where _he_ is when we buried Foxy when we were seven.".

"You don't mean..."

"I think mom thinks Naruto is still alive and hes back. That after all this time hes still trying to protect us."

* * *

Daemon cursed and yelled as he beat a clearing of trees down into a grassy field, his fists dripoing blood as he doubled over. It shouldn't be this hard. The boy they knew was dead. Naruto Uzumaki died at seven years old to protect the two people in the village that didn't actively belittle or hurt him. Naruto Uzumaki saved Hana Inzukua and Anko Mitarashi, his two friends he affectionately called Luna-chan and Hebi-hime respectively for their similarities to snakes & wolves, from Kami only knows what grim painful fates. Naruto Uzumakis corpse had been tossed in a landfill by the mob only to be given proper burial by the same two girls who he gave his life to protect. "Why is it so hard now?! Why after all these years!?"

Black fire like a tidal wave erupted around him incinerating stumps, destroyed tree pieces and foliage to ash. After years of conditionings and training why were the emotional blocks crumbling like wet paper bags?

"Its because you still love them more than the worth of your existence on every coil. Because you still want to shield them from the cruelty of human nature."

Daemon spun on heel, his eyes hard as he found them all there- Sayaka, Kiara and the others. The two guys at the back while Kiara and the other girl stood just behind Sayaka. "I need an Architect, a Forger, a master class Thief, a Chemist and an Infuser who won't ask questions."

"Daemon..."

"This is not a discussion. Not here, not now. The past is behind me. Who and what I was before doesn't matter. Not anymore. A Lost Coyote can still survive with one chewed off paw." Daemon walked between the group of five shrugging off concerned hands. "We all make sacrifices... I made mine and lives were saved even if one was lost in the process." He paused at the edge of the ash soaked clearing, his clothes dusted in ashes leaving him silhouetted as a dark grey figure against the setting sun starting to bring darkness to the forest.

"Do you regret it?"

Daemon hesitated in his step, his grip tightening on a branch snapping it off the larger one. "One boys suffering ended with him sacrificing himself to protect the two he cared the most for from being hurt in any number of unspeakable ways. I thnk that boy wouldn't think twice to do it all over again. He wasn't always Lost but even shy a paw" he dug his boot into the ground grinding dirt and ash together "he'll watch them still. He'd die a permanent second death if he must to ensure their safety."

* * *

-Inzuka Clan compound, clan head household-

As the moon rose in the sky Tsumes eyes turned with the path of the lunar object. Her ears perked slightly hearing a howl echo put across Konoha. It wasn't one of the Inzuka dogs and she doubted that there were any domesticated dogs that in touch with their wild selves. Even as these thoughts ran through her mind and the wind brought an all too familar scent to her nose the Inzuka matriarch felt a slight misting come to her eyes. She had been right all along. "You cam come home pup. You don't have to be a Coyote to protect your mates anymore... Let them know you're alive and let them fight with you. For their sakes if not yours" she said to herself, her words lost on the wind. In her hands she clenched a rosary adorned with two silver medallions, one bearing the inscription of 'Saint Jude' in arched letters on a piece of the medal worked to look like a piece of parchment above a carving of the canonized saint, flame like halo around his head and all; the other bearing the inscription of 'Saint Nicholas' on the same worked out parchment above its own carving of said saint. Tsume had only been to the Western continents once on a mission, they needed an expert tracker and she was the only one available, had found that Western religion made slightly more sense than the singular religion back home. It was perhaps sad coincidende that the mission had come up **after** Hana and Anko had laid Naruto to proper rest. She hadn't been particularly religious than but her concern for her children had gone through the roof after Naruto sacrificed himself for his friends.

"We who are but specks of sand in the grand design of the universe cannot begin to hope to understand the plans laid out for us. We cannot begin to decipher the destinies that lie before us. But I ask you Jude and you Nicholas to bring him home where he belongs. Bring him back to pack that welcomed with open arms and open hearts. He may be an adult in the eyes of human law but he is still a child, a desperate child seeking to protect those who matter more to him than his own life. Hear my prayer and bring him home."

* * *

A/N: so... Yeah, wake and funeral are done & while I had planned to take time to work through my feelings I can't get lost in my own head. I know what happens when I do and its not pretty.

Anyway, some people asked who the "they' are and now you know- anko and hana. Yeah I know in canon both are older than Naruto/Daemon but considering this is a rewrite, and truthfully I reread spirit swordsman & didn't like what I with Sakura and Satsuki, their needed to be two women with strong conviction to stand up to Daemons attitude. By virtue of anko and hana being graduation age obvious theres going to a lot of AU elements involved so yea...

Also, if anyone has a problem with mixing real world catholism elements into it then go screw. Daemon acts in the reckless capacity of a Lost Cause/Desparate Case, falling into dominion of Saint Jude, and being a child by virtue of his age dominion of Saint Nicholas. Not santa but Saint Nicholas of Myra


	3. Team meetings and enlightenment

Hollow thuds echoed in the early morning hours outside the ninja academy. Like a ghost the chunins who opened up the building watched in awe the silhouette of a figure facing off against a number of opponents by themself. Punches, kicks, blocks and swordstrikes flowed seamlessly into each other ending the threat against them; smoke erupting as the opponents seemed to fall over dead. Light panting broke their trance like state as the figure pulled a flask from their hip pouch and took a long pull off it. "Identify yourself."

The figure scoffed to themself as it rolled its shoulder in their socket. "Daemon Morningstar. Here to do some warm up before the genin cells are announced" he said coldly. "Now piss off to your entry level job like good little rats."

* * *

By the time eight o'clock rolled around and everyone was assembled in the lecture hall for the last time Daemon was bored to all hell. His hands were occupied by a deck of cards rapidly and repeatedly shuffling the deck in all manner of fancy ways. Some would take this as nervous energy but that was the wrong assertion entirely. His style of taijutsu required a high level of unconscious dexterity and he found the easiest way to keep on top of that was through almost religious practice of fancy deck shuffles & card tricks. _'I could be doing something far more useful right now than listening to useless drivel and gossip from babies barely out of their diapers'_ he thought stopping the current deck shuffle mid-motion making it appear like the cards created an inverted crucifix.

Hana and Ankos eyes were trained on Daemon as his hands only ceased to moved at what they could only guess was a striking thought. A boy like him trained from such a young age did not possess the weak nerves to call his card shuffling nervous energy, that much was obvious from the mechanical way he went through the motions flawlessly like this was routine for when he was bored. "What do you think made him stop?" the purple haired kunoichi asked, her eyes not leaving the boys back.

"Any number of things Anko. Could be hes grown bored of it but thats doubtful. Could be that a thought occured to him and hes giving it due consideration. Maybe he realized he could've had a V8" Hana said trying to inject humor to the situation but even to her ears the joke fell flat on its face.

"That was bad Luna-chan" Anko said rolling her eyes though a tiny smirk _did_ momentarily pull at her lips. She opened her mouth to say something but Iruka entered at that moment with a clipboard and a rather grim expression on his face. "Wonder what crawled in his girdle and died."

"Everyone shut up and pay attention because I'm only saying this once." Irukas words were rather cold and left little room for argument. After the debriefing he was given by the Yondaime and his council of advisors when he went to pick up the genin squad list he was in no mood to listen to kids bitching about insignificant matters. "From today on you truly become adults in the eyes of the village and your feet are now firmly entrenched in the military industrial complex. Your success, your failures, your deeds good and bad will be a mark for or against the village." He slammed a headshot of Mizuki against the board. "Just like Mizuki who was caught at 0400 hours trying to flee the village with the Forbidden Scroll of Sealing in his possession and wound up being executed for his crime. Your life is no longer solely your own to handle. Your life belongs to the Hokage and the village."

Kizuka frowned thoughtfully at that noting many of the civilian born kids go deathly pale like it was the first time they had heard such measures were used to punish the most extreme cases. Her eyes noted the Morningstar boy was once again rapidly shuffling the deck between his hands without looking. She could tell from the deft automatic adjustments of his hands that the action was muscle memory to him and something he had to do so very often to not need the visual cues to adjust his hands positions. _'Just who are you really? Is your name **really** Daemon Morningstar and my gut is just acting up giving me a phantom feeling or are you hiding you true identity for a reason? If you are hiding your true identity then who are you really and are you a friend or foe to the village?' _she wondered as her frown deepened while her fingers steepled in front of her face.

"Team Seven consists of Kizuka Uzumaki-Namikaze, Sakura Haruno and Sasuke Uchiha under the command of Kakashi Hatake. An auxillary sensei to assist team training has been listed to be introduced when your team meets with your sensei for the first time."

Hana rolled her eyes while Anko let out a snort of 'FAVORITISM!' disguised as a sneeze. "Sorry bout that, pollen count is a killer this morning" she heard her purple haired friend say making a motion like she was wiping at her nose.

"Try to keep your personal opinions to yourself Ms. Mitarashi. Accusations of all manner can bring anyone of you before a military tribunal to stand court marshal" Iruka said with a cross look.

Daemon scowled deeply as a muscle at the edge of wrist twitched and a card shot out of the deck. Silence fell over the room as the whistle that came with how quickly it travelled and the fact it **STUCK IN** the chalkboard centimeters from Irukas throat in the vicinity of the carrotid artery. "Apologies Iruka-san, my hand slipped while I was shuffling my cards" he said blandly. Of course his hand didn't slip and the muscle twitch to launch the card was intentional but no one could prove he did it intentionally. Clutching the deck in one hand he made a come hither motion with his pinky before a chakra string connected with the card pulling it back into the pile.

Hana and Ankos eyebrows raised simultaneously at that. Iruka looked a bit unnerved before returning to reading off the teams. That hadn't been an absent minded hand slip. Someone or something had annoyed him to shut it up with that display. "You don't think..." As much as Hana didn't want to think it maybe her mom was right. Maybe Naruto was _actually alive still_ and he was back. But if that was the case where was he now? What disguise was he in? Why hadn't he revealed to them he was still alive? Why had he led them to believe he was well and truly dead?

"Hana, don't chase ghosts that aren't there. You said so yourself to your mom, we buried Foxy years ago. Its just coincidence" Anko said shaking her head and gently squeezed the brunettes arm. She could see the doubt in her friends eyes and as much as even she herself wanted to believe it coincidence she couldn't muster the strength to give it consideration. Coincidence was for the civilians who couldn't put together the dots that made the cogs in the machine of life rotate to give predictable outcomes they expect to come about. Naruto had told them once coincidence was the crutch of the ignorant and feeble minded. It was irony they had only been six at the time but he had been wise, far too wise for someone their age. He had told them to believe in coincidence or fate was a weakness that showed who was too cowardly to actively forge the life one wants with their own hands, blood, sweat and tears.

"Team Thirteen consists of Daemon Morningstar, Anko Mitarashi and Hana Inzukua; your sensei is Sayaka Usagi. Team senseis will file in after lunch to begin your cell introductions. Until then you are free to do as you wish. Speak with your squadmates, read or what have you. Just take a word of advice from me." Iruka crumpled the team list and burned it to ash with a fire jutsu.

"Don't do anything to warrant having your ass criminally wanted by the village. Between the specially trained Hunter Ninja Corps and the ANBU at the Hokages disposal there is nowhere safe for you to hide. You will be found, you will be brought back to face your charges or you will die on the spot if your crimes are severe enough. That is if the Daimyou doesn't catch wind of what you did first and sends out the Badger Platoon." Daemon ignored the eyes turned to him as his eyes were fixated on the trench his card left in the blackboard. "Where you were going was entirely too obvious Iruka-san and the Badgers are more nightmare worthy than the ANBU & Hunter Corps combined" he said shrugging his shoulders.

Kizuka was silent mulling over that comment. She knew the ANBU and Hunter Ninja her dad commanded were fearson in their own right that they struck the fear of Kami in those they were sent after but this Badger Platoon? She had never heard of them before and her dad had the grasp of how the majority of Hi no Kunis security was set up. "Badger Platoon? Yeah right, you probably made that up" she said after a moment and deciding to poke the bear lightly to see how the boy would react.

Daemon turned his head slightly just so one eye could look at Kizuka. Of course his sister would be the one to speak and mock in question. Her intelligence had always been suspect to him but with the ego feeding she had continually gotten he wasn't surpised. "If you ask the major clans of not just Konoha but the ninja settlements of Hi no Kuni they'd tell you the same thing. Despite the name you won't find a more ruthless group employed by Lord Katsuro-dono. Granted I would label them more as mercenary-esque in nature than a formally deigned unit formed during the reign of Lord Katsuro-donos grandfather, Kami-sama rest his soul, their fealty to the Daimyou is without suspicion." A card twirled slowly on his fingertip, the cards back momentarily flashing the image of a man beating a child in her face. It wouldn't be more than a split second but Kizuka would be the only one to see it. If he could make her think she was going a little nuts then perhaps he could throw her off enough that even the weight of being obviously stuck with Kakashi Hatake in a display of favoritism, her 'older brother' so to speak, then a second look by the shinobi council would force a review of her suitability.

"Hes right you know. My aunt Shiori was inducted a few years back as a tracker. I don't know how dangerous the missions they go on are supposed to be but she came back after a fugitive hunt a complete mess; she was nearly blinded in one eye with half her ribs broken from the pursuit & fight" Hana said glaring at Kizuka. It was typical for the girl to speak before she thought through what she was saying. If Naruto were still alive he could shut up the wench, they fought like a thousand times worse than cats and dogs as far as siblings went but being more stubborn than her he could verbally beat her down enough to shut her up. "The Badgers take only the best and their expectations are astronomically high. Like meet their expectations if you get inducted in the unit and exceed them or you will without doubt die trying. Literally."

Kizuka saw the image on the cards back and froze, Hanas words not even registering. No, she couldn't have seen what she thought she just saw. Her eyes closed and clenched shut for a moment before they reopened. Looking back at the cards the backs seemed normal in design. _'Get yourself together Kizuka! Of course you didn't see what you think you saw. You've pushed your training a lottle too hard the last week and obvious the fatigue is finally catching up to you'_ she berated herself.

 _ **'Or did you truly, and I mean WELLL & TRULY, actually see that image on the card?'**_

Kizuka shut out the voice and locked it in the darkest pit towards the very back of her mind. She would not listen to that voice. She would not humor that voice. She would not even admit its existence under pain of torture.

 ** _'Oh you insolent little child'_** the voice was laughing now, the sound skin crawlingly dry and malicios in pitch _**'I am as very much on this plane of existence as you are. The same plane where your brothers festering corpse rots away because you locked him out of-'**_

While Kizuka was having her denials Daemons eyes narrowed as he felt several familiar chakra signatures enter the village. _'Seems my real team is here. But why did Sayaka have to include_ **him** _?'_ he pondered disdainfully. The others he could work with but one particular chakra signature was that of someone he could barely stomach professionally, let alone work in close quarters with for extended periods of time.

"So the man of mystery..."

Daemon raised an eyebrow slightly, though his expression remained rather stoic otherwise, as he saw Hana and Anko approach. "Man of mystery you say?I hardly think so ladies" he said as he palmed the deck of cards.

"You might say that but we don't know you from John Doe off the street so you are just that" Anko said plopping down on one side of Daemon. Giving him a thorough once over visually she wondered just how viabe his choice of clothing was. Sure it would afford him the freedom of unrestricted movement to make his assumed kenjutsu style easier to perform. On the other hand considering it didn't have any kind of armor plating to defend his body from harm she had thought for lack of better descriptors he was underdressed to go into any combat situation. To her eye at least it looked like all he had on was samurai style clothes worn under their armor and a travel cloak, that was it. "So Mr. Morningstar, do you have other more viable combat clothes or is this all you got?"

"Its all I need Ms. Mitarashi, appearances are supposed to be deceiving. Just because my hakama pants and kimono top suggest an unarmored and damage vunerable form, yours would suggest a rather... Free woman open to seducing her opponents and killing them before anything took place. Of course if my observation offends do not misunderstand what I say as slanderous or derrogatory. Any good kunoichi or trainee kunoichi worth her salt knows her sexuality and her looks are just as dangerous a weapon to the enemy as any actual weapon." Daemon didn't blink as Ankos eye twitched for a moment before the girl was pulled into a headlock by Hana.

"Anko, hes our squadmate and he is right. We all dress deceptively, whose not to say his clothes aren't lined with strengthening seals where we can't see them? For all we know he has throwable weapons lined up in one sleeve for quick access throws and medical supplies in a scroll up the other" Hana said yanking Anko back before she could attempt to strangle Daemon. "Apologies for my friend, shes got a bit of a short temper."

"Short temper my ass!" Anko said with a scowl trying to pry Hanas arm off. "I wasn't going do nothin anyway. Give me a little credit sheesh..." When she was let go by Hana she gave her friend a light shove.

Kizuka warched Daemon, Anko and Hana with a stony expression, her hands wringing together. In the back of her mind she thought the way the three of them interacted was odd. Hana and Ankos interactions weren't that out of character considering the two were, to her understanding at least, long time friends and if she was to be honest she suspected they may be romantically involved wigh each other to some degree based on the looks she caught them shooting each other when it seemed they thought no one was looking. What made the interaction strange to her was that Daemon, this boy who was barely in the village less than twenty four hours, seemed to find a way to slip in and not have other girl jump at him. _'Well thats not right, Anko looked about ready to jump at him for a veiled comment about the way she dresses and as sexist as some might take it to be his point about kunoichi using their looks & sexuality as equally deadly weapons is a valid point' _she thought to herself.

While Anko and Hana had their squabble Daemon packed his deck of cards away & laid his head on the desk in front of him. Sayaka had better hurry up and get them so 'introductions' could be done. With the real team now here he hoped to be done with the real mission as quick as possible. Heartening as it was to see Anko and Hana were ok after all these years he knew be ran astronomically high risks of expsoing his true identity to not just them but the entire village & that was something that could end up killing him. He had already lost momentary control of his emotions the night before and it was only by the grace of Kami that no one from the village saw it or heard what he said.

"Team Bad Luck."

Anko and Hanas head turned to look for the female voice that spoke. When Daemon stood up the pair was confused as they stood as well.

"That would be one of my handlers who helped in my training and our squad sensei, Sayaka Usagi also known as the 'Bloody Bunny' or the 'Crimson Menace'" Daemon said. "She also has a sense of humor that is purely based in irony. Bad luck is a gamblers wet dream dream come true of Lady Luck smiling on them and good luck is Kami forsaking them to hell if you ask her directly. You'll see that its best not to make her wait." He moved with a quick stride and paused only for a moment to whisper something in Sayakas ear bringing a scowl to her lips.

Hana tried to strain her senses to hear what Daemon said to the woman but the simultaneous mutterings of others waiting for their team senseis and the low volume of Daemons own words she couldn't make out what was said. "Tell me you got something from reading his lips Anko" she said as they trailed behind the raven haired boy and their new sensei, the question coming out through short gestures of her fingers in specific patterns of taps & pauses of her fingers against her arm.

"Wish I did. Whatever he said was in some sort of code. Only thing that didn't seem coded was 'insufferable bastard Shiba'. Could be that hes talking about someone they know and he doesn't particularly like." Ankos answer came in a series of handgestures only Hana would understand. She saw her friends eyes darken slightly in frustration. Being so short in addressing an obvious unspoken question, offering up answers to questions _about_ to be asked; he was proving himself to be every bit the man of mystery she had called him to be.

Up on the roof Sayaka looked across the three kids for a moment not saying a word. Giving the two girls a critical look over she began to understand why Daemon was so adamant about having kept them safe before she came into the picture when he was younger before he 'died; like him they were blessed in their own ways and she wasn't talking about their natural abilities. To the chakra sensitive it would be childs play to see that the girls were special. Ankos aura had eight serpentine tails flaring out behind her like coat-tails while Hanas aura clung to her form like wolf ears and a long tail swaying behind her. _'It makes sense now... Blessed by the moon and blessed of the earth. You knew they were different long before they did didn't you? Thats why you were so adamant keeping them from harm even if it killed you more inside to leave them behind for their safety..'_ she thought to herself as one eye looked to Daemon. "Alrighty then kiddies, lets get this show on the road. As Daemon probably already told you my name is Sayaka Usagi and you three have the potential to call me your sensei & yourselves proper genin."

"Whoa whoa, hold on there. What do you mean by 'potential'? We passed the damn exam in the top three percent of the class" Hana said looking a touch miffed. She and Anko _did not_ waste every single day since they buried Naruto properly training themselves to the brink of blackout exhaustion so they could get to the truth about why Naruto was hated by the majority of the village and why the Yondaime let the village get away with killing his son without reprisal to be held back by a **possibility** of becoming genin.

"Konoha and the other four villages that make the Great Five have a standardized test that trims the fat to those who have the base level acceptable standards. Once the fat has been trimmed to that extent you need to cull those among the acceptable that lack traits that make survival in the field all but guaranteed. What that trait or traits are is largely varied among the Great Five but with Konohas stagnant tradition of teams being generationally successive, the team consisting of a Yamanaka Akimichi and Nara for example, makes it clear that the trait sought by the Hokage for Konha shinobi is teamwork. This is both smart but equally stupid in the sense that many of the teams like the example are so well known to the other Great Five villages that counter teams & training has been implemented into their training since Konoha is so vain to think themselves the best."

Anko and Hanas jaw were dropped slightly at the callous description used by Daemon.

"You're speaking out loud instead of thinking again Daemon" Sayaka said with a scolding tone as she whacked him upside the back of his head with a paper fan. "But he is right. Of all the teams that was assigned today most of you will fail and be sent to the reserve roster for remedial training to work on being able to function as a cohesive unit with nearly every type of person regardless of your personal feelings toward said types. If after that time those assigned a team from those on the reserve roster fail again to meet standards your chakra is sealed and you are locked out of any life that involves the military."

"I was purposefully speaking out loud sensei. Ms. Inzuka and Ms. Mitarashi are clearly intelligent young women that obviously held their own suspicions on why the test was so easy" Daemon rolling his eyes. "What was the first thing you taught me when I came into your teachings? If something is too easy on the surfacd than it has to be too good to be true or a test." He pointed fo the concrete beneath their feet. "That was a pitiful test in appearance but a wealth of psychological information for those who know how to read between the lines "

* * *

Under the moonlight Daemon waited a touch impatiently in the center of a clearing outside the village. "Its about time you all got here. I was getting the impression that you lot weren't coming " He didn't bother look at the kneeling figures after they touched down in the clearing. "Kintaro Shiba, stand."

A young man dressed in a duster, cargo shorts, combat boots and a partially buttoned up dress shirt rolled up to his elbows stood with a scowl. He had a few years on Daemon but due to the raven haired, red eye gold slit pupil having relations to the Daimyous head of personal security he had to listen to him. "Morningstar" he said with a short curt tone.

"I don't like you one iota. I would like nothing more than to toss you down the first rocky ravine." Daemon paused and slowly began to pace back & forth in front of the group though his gaze did turn to Kintaro. "But I have to grudgingly admit that I respect your experrise as a Thief and a Forger. I have to trust Sayakas choice to choose you was correct when I told her to assemble this team." Stopping in front of the snow white haired young man he offered a hand. "Do I have the assistance of a professional for the duration of this mission?" he asked with a serious tone.

Kintaro eyed the hand warily for a moment. "The feeling is mutual Morningstar and just for the record I'd personally like to put you in front of a firing squad just to see if that would pull the stick out of your ass" he said as his scowl deepened. "But I know I wouldn't be here if it wasn't a matter of national security. I'll put aside my personal feelings for the sake of our country and give you a master Thief & Forger if you can put aside your feelings to give us a Wrecking Ball." He offered his own hand though he did not shakd Daemons.

The others watched with baited breath to see who would blink first. They had all worked with Daemon or Kintaro on jobs before but to have both headstrong young men on the same job was a recipe for disaster in their mind.

"We're all professionals here." Daemon turned slightly and fished out a mission scroll tossing it to Kintaro. "All of you learn the details, committ them to memory and burn that to ash."

One of kneeling figures, a young woman looking to be in her early twenties, looked up at Daemon with a wary but curious expression. "Before we even read the details what are we doing for this job boss?" she asked.

Daemon looked over to the woman and sighed internally. He was familiar with the entire assembly of people but if he had more reservation about anyone more than Kinataro Shiba, it was the young woman who spoke up. Nira Lane was not a bad person by any measure and the raven haired young man knew that better than most. His reservations about Nira stemmed from the fact that she treated him the same as Sayaka did, smothering when she chose to be-which was most of the time- and she had this obsession about wanting to 'draw out the man with a good heart hiding in the dark swamp' as she put it. Nira meant well and she was a damn good Architect but her emotions were worn on her sleeve when it came to her comrades, a big no no when it came to being an Architect. "Lord Katsuro-dono has decided its time to pull the trigger and kill the cancer that is corrupting the heart of our countries ninja forces." He turned so his back to them completely as his eyes went to the moon. "We have carte blanche to remove the elements we can prove are on the take and build our case out from that point "

Kintaro cleared his throat interrupting Daemon. "It says here tha-"

"I know what it says Kintaro, I'm giving paraphrase" Daemon said with a hint of annoyance. "When you all take your own time to read you will find a list of people that need to be watched. They are guilty beyond all doubts given circumstancial evidence by other agents Lord Katsuro-dono has slipped into the village for undercover surveilance."

"Who is the biggest target to take down on the..." Niras eyes widened as the scroll was handed to her and her gaze saw the name at the top of the list under the orders.

"The biggest fish to be caught in the net but most certainly the hardest to catch are none other than Yondaime Hokage Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki-Namikaze for accessory & negligence leading to the death of Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze. One of two containers of the Kyuubi no Kitsune sealed by the Sandaime when it escaped years ago" Daemon said with a grim line pulling at his lips.

-Inzuka Compound inside the village, same time as Daemons meeting-

Anko grunted as she hit the ground hard and her back slammed into a tree. A couple of feet away Hana wiped blood from her mouth. "Come on Luna, you can hit harder than that" she said pushing herself up to her feet. "Or are you going soft on me? What would Naruto-kun say about that, you going sof-"

Hana growled silently before she was gone in a blur as the moon was obscured by clouds bathing the training area in complete darkness. Her senses were beyond sharp as she picked up Anko turning every which way trying to determine where she would appear next. Choosing her angle of attack she seemed to appear like a ghost as the moon was once again visible and she had Anko pinned to the tree with a hand around her throat and the other in a position with her clawed fingers spread like she was ready to gut her friend. "I am not getting soft Hebi-hime" she said, her eyes hard. "Nor will I ever be soft to those... Scum." Her words were spit out like venom on her tongue. "Not after what they did...not after what they did to Foxy..."

Ankos eyes softened as her hands came up and pried Hanas hand from her throat. "I know Luna-chan, I know" she said quietly as one arm went around her friends waist drawing the feral looking girl close as she buried her face in the others throat. "I miss him just as much as you do but remember we have to keep fighting, keep getting stronger so we can get him the justice he deserves."

Tsume watched from the shadow of a tree nearby and smiled softly as the two girls shared their moment. For two of the fiercest up and coming kunoichi she saw the same two little girls who loved each other, innocently of course, as they had loved their best friend. "Theres been justice already girls and when he comes to you don't jump down his throat. Hes done so much to protect you both and prove that even now he cares as much, if not more, about you two now as he did then. I pray he comes home first by choice before you two find out by other means. Your friend, your mate, your sun..."

"You talk to yourself like this too much and people will think you're losing your marbles Wild Spirit."

Tsume chuckled not even turning to look at who appeared behind her like a wraith from the shadows. "You're one to talk Blood Bunny, you bought the carrot farm on crazy" she said crossing her arms across her chest. "Tell me the truth Sayaka old friend, is there any hope the pup will ever be able to come home? Back here where he belongs with the people who loved him those years ago and still love him even now I mean."

Sayaka was quiet for a moment debating the question as she fingered a scroll loosely gripped in her hand. "I've made sure he will. The crimes against him will be brought to the scales of justice and the guilty shall pay for their involvement." She crossed the few feet between them and slipped the scroll into Tsumes pocket. "Read it, tell no one what you find inside or Kami forgive me... This will be the last time I come to you as a friend." Retreating into the shadow she left with one last word. "Once you read it, ditch it in a place you know Anko and Hana will find it. You'll know when the time is right to do it and where, a mother knows where her children will find the answers they need exactly when they need them. Anko and Hana will find the same truths you will but also why he had to do what he did for them..."

Tsume spun on heel to say something but there was no one and nothing there, only empty air. "Those girls are everything to me Sayaka and you are my friend, my sister in all senses that matter. Betraying my family, betraying you and your trust, had never been an option in my mind. Life and death are passing phases for all of us but love of the family & pack, that is forever. Eternal as Mother Moons blessing..." She gripped the scroll securely.


End file.
